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FORT WORTH, Texas – Houston quarterback Greg Ward had just thrown his third touchdown in a flurried comeback that included two recovered onside kicks in a row to get the Cougars within a point in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Interim coach David Gibbs never had a second thought on what to do with less than a minute left in the game.

"We decided to go for two at the end because we had the momentum," Gibbs said.

Deontay Greenberry, already with two TD catches in that final 3:41, made a leaping catch in the back of the end zone for the two-point conversion and the Cougars beat Pittsburgh 35-34 on Friday with an improbable comeback — the largest in an FBS game this season, and largest ever in a bowl game that didn't go into overtime.

"We've been through a lot of games where we was coming from behind and we got close to coming back and winning the game, but we just couldn't finish it," Greenberry said. "It's all about just never quitting."

Pitt (6-7) led 31-6 when ACC offensive player of the year James Conner had his second touchdown run with 14 minutes left in the game. The Panthers were still up 34-13 after Chris Blewitt's 29-yard field goal with 6:14 left before Houston's big finish.

Ward had an 8-yard TD pass to Greenberry before the Cougars recovered their first onside kick. That led to a 29-yard catch by Demarcus Ayers on a fourth-and-13 play with 1:58 left, and Houston tried another onside kick.

While the second one didn't go 10 yards on the rain-slickened field, the ball was touched by the same Pitt defender who couldn't handle the first one before Houston running back Kenneth Farrow jumped on it at the Cougars 43. Greenberry started the drive with a 38-yard catch, then on third-and-16 had a 25-yard TD with 59 seconds left.

Along with momentum, the Cougars had been preparing for such a situation to use a two-point play since defensive coordinator Gibbs took over as interim for fired coach Tony Levine.

"The truth is our first bowl practice … we made a decision that day at practice that if it came down to the end of the game, we were going for two no matter what," Gibbs said. "This is a true story. We started practicing the two-point play the very first practice. So we've probably run that play, I don't know, 25, 30 times in practice. "

Ward, the former Cougars receiver, had 237 of his 274 yards passing in the fourth quarter and also ran for 92 yards.

The Cougars' new coach is Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman, who still has one more game with the Buckeyes after they upset top-ranked Alabama in the Sugar Bowl to advance to the national championship game Jan. 12.

New Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi was at the game, a day after his finale as Michigan State's defensive coordinator in the Spartans' comeback from 20 points down for a 42-41 win over Baylor in the Cotton Bowl. That game was played inside the Dallas Cowboys' NFL stadium about 20 miles away Thursday.

"It's been a bowl season where you've seen some comebacks, and obviously this isn't the side of it you want to be on," Pitt interim coach and offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph said.

Paul Chryst, a Madison native and former Wisconsin offensive coordinator, left Pitt last month after three seasons to become head coach of the Badgers.

Farrow ran 22 times for 103 yards and two touchdowns for the Cougars, who have split their four appearances in the 12-year history of the Armed Forces Bowl.

Conner's 1-yard TD run a minute into the second quarter capped a 15-play, 92-yard drive, and Pitt led until the final minute of the game. The Cougars had a missed extra point after Farrow's 2-yard TD in the second quarter when Kyle Bullard slipped while kicking.

"There were a lot of opportunities to make plays," Pitt defensive back Ray Vinopal said. "Special teams, offense, and especially defense. I don't think there's any way you can point the finger at one person."